WIKIBOOKS
DISPONIBILI
?????????

ART
- Great Painters
BUSINESS&LAW
- Accounting
- Fundamentals of Law
- Marketing
- Shorthand
CARS
- Concept Cars
GAMES&SPORT
- Videogames
- The World of Sports

COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
- Blogs
- Free Software
- Google
- My Computer

- PHP Language and Applications
- Wikipedia
- Windows Vista

EDUCATION
- Education
LITERATURE
- Masterpieces of English Literature
LINGUISTICS
- American English

- English Dictionaries
- The English Language

MEDICINE
- Medical Emergencies
- The Theory of Memory
MUSIC&DANCE
- The Beatles
- Dances
- Microphones
- Musical Notation
- Music Instruments
SCIENCE
- Batteries
- Nanotechnology
LIFESTYLE
- Cosmetics
- Diets
- Vegetarianism and Veganism
TRADITIONS
- Christmas Traditions
NATURE
- Animals

- Fruits And Vegetables



ARTICLES IN THE BOOK

  1. Adobe Reader
  2. Adware
  3. Altavista
  4. AOL
  5. Apple Macintosh
  6. Application software
  7. Arrow key
  8. Artificial Intelligence
  9. ASCII
  10. Assembly language
  11. Automatic translation
  12. Avatar
  13. Babylon
  14. Bandwidth
  15. Bit
  16. BitTorrent
  17. Black hat
  18. Blog
  19. Bluetooth
  20. Bulletin board system
  21. Byte
  22. Cache memory
  23. Celeron
  24. Central processing unit
  25. Chat room
  26. Client
  27. Command line interface
  28. Compiler
  29. Computer
  30. Computer bus
  31. Computer card
  32. Computer display
  33. Computer file
  34. Computer games
  35. Computer graphics
  36. Computer hardware
  37. Computer keyboard
  38. Computer networking
  39. Computer printer
  40. Computer program
  41. Computer programmer
  42. Computer science
  43. Computer security
  44. Computer software
  45. Computer storage
  46. Computer system
  47. Computer terminal
  48. Computer virus
  49. Computing
  50. Conference call
  51. Context menu
  52. Creative commons
  53. Creative Commons License
  54. Creative Technology
  55. Cursor
  56. Data
  57. Database
  58. Data storage device
  59. Debuggers
  60. Demo
  61. Desktop computer
  62. Digital divide
  63. Discussion groups
  64. DNS server
  65. Domain name
  66. DOS
  67. Download
  68. Download manager
  69. DVD-ROM
  70. DVD-RW
  71. E-mail
  72. E-mail spam
  73. File Transfer Protocol
  74. Firewall
  75. Firmware
  76. Flash memory
  77. Floppy disk drive
  78. GNU
  79. GNU General Public License
  80. GNU Project
  81. Google
  82. Google AdWords
  83. Google bomb
  84. Graphics
  85. Graphics card
  86. Hacker
  87. Hacker culture
  88. Hard disk
  89. High-level programming language
  90. Home computer
  91. HTML
  92. Hyperlink
  93. IBM
  94. Image processing
  95. Image scanner
  96. Instant messaging
  97. Instruction
  98. Intel
  99. Intel Core 2
  100. Interface
  101. Internet
  102. Internet bot
  103. Internet Explorer
  104. Internet protocols
  105. Internet service provider
  106. Interoperability
  107. IP addresses
  108. IPod
  109. Joystick
  110. JPEG
  111. Keyword
  112. Laptop computer
  113. Linux
  114. Linux kernel
  115. Liquid crystal display
  116. List of file formats
  117. List of Google products
  118. Local area network
  119. Logitech
  120. Machine language
  121. Mac OS X
  122. Macromedia Flash
  123. Mainframe computer
  124. Malware
  125. Media center
  126. Media player
  127. Megabyte
  128. Microsoft
  129. Microsoft Windows
  130. Microsoft Word
  131. Mirror site
  132. Modem
  133. Motherboard
  134. Mouse
  135. Mouse pad
  136. Mozilla Firefox
  137. Mp3
  138. MPEG
  139. MPEG-4
  140. Multimedia
  141. Musical Instrument Digital Interface
  142. Netscape
  143. Network card
  144. News ticker
  145. Office suite
  146. Online auction
  147. Online chat
  148. Open Directory Project
  149. Open source
  150. Open source software
  151. Opera
  152. Operating system
  153. Optical character recognition
  154. Optical disc
  155. output
  156. PageRank
  157. Password
  158. Pay-per-click
  159. PC speaker
  160. Peer-to-peer
  161. Pentium
  162. Peripheral
  163. Personal computer
  164. Personal digital assistant
  165. Phishing
  166. Pirated software
  167. Podcasting
  168. Pointing device
  169. POP3
  170. Programming language
  171. QuickTime
  172. Random access memory
  173. Routers
  174. Safari
  175. Scalability
  176. Scrollbar
  177. Scrolling
  178. Scroll wheel
  179. Search engine
  180. Security cracking
  181. Server
  182. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
  183. Skype
  184. Social software
  185. Software bug
  186. Software cracker
  187. Software library
  188. Software utility
  189. Solaris Operating Environment
  190. Sound Blaster
  191. Soundcard
  192. Spam
  193. Spamdexing
  194. Spam in blogs
  195. Speech recognition
  196. Spoofing attack
  197. Spreadsheet
  198. Spyware
  199. Streaming media
  200. Supercomputer
  201. Tablet computer
  202. Telecommunications
  203. Text messaging
  204. Trackball
  205. Trojan horse
  206. TV card
  207. Unicode
  208. Uniform Resource Identifier
  209. Unix
  210. URL redirection
  211. USB flash drive
  212. USB port
  213. User interface
  214. Vlog
  215. Voice over IP
  216. Warez
  217. Wearable computer
  218. Web application
  219. Web banner
  220. Web browser
  221. Web crawler
  222. Web directories
  223. Web indexing
  224. Webmail
  225. Web page
  226. Website
  227. Wiki
  228. Wikipedia
  229. WIMP
  230. Windows CE
  231. Windows key
  232. Windows Media Player
  233. Windows Vista
  234. Word processor
  235. World Wide Web
  236. Worm
  237. XML
  238. X Window System
  239. Yahoo
  240. Zombie computer
 



MY COMPUTER
This article is from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer

All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License 

Personal computer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 
Macs like the iMac Core Duo are also "personal computers". Unlike many PCs, the iMac is an "all in one" with all its components, including processor and speakers, in one case.
Macs like the iMac Core Duo are also "personal computers". Unlike many PCs, the iMac is an "all in one" with all its components, including processor and speakers, in one case.

A personal computer (PC) is a microcomputer whose price, size, and capabilities make it suitable for personal usage. The term was popularized by Apple Computer with the Apple II in the late-1970s and early-1980s, and afterwards by IBM with the IBM Personal Computer.

History

Main article: History of computing hardware (1960s-present)
Time shared computer terminals connected to central computers were sometimes used before the advent of the PC, such as the TeleVideo ASCII character mode smart terminal pictured here.
Time shared computer terminals connected to central computers were sometimes used before the advent of the PC, such as the TeleVideo ASCII character mode smart terminal pictured here.

Mainframes and large "minicomputers"

Before the advent of the microprocessor in the early 1970s, computers were generally large, costly systems owned by universities, and institutions. End users often did not directly interact with the machine but instead would prepare tasks for the computer on off-line equipment such as card punches. A number of assignments for the computer would be gathered up and processed in batch mode. After the job had completed, users could collect the results. In some cases it could take hours or days between submitting a job to the computing center and receiving the output.

A more interactive form of computer use developed commercially by the middle 1960's. In a time-sharing system, multiple computer terminals let many people share the use of one mainframe computer processor. This was common in business applications, and in sciences and engineering.

A different model of computer use was foreshadowed by the way in which early, pre-commercial, experimental computers were used, where one user had exclusive use of a processor. Some of the first computers that might be called "personal" were early minicomputers such as the LINC and PDP-8, and later on VAX and larger minicomputers from Data General, Prime, and others. By today's standards they were very large (about the size of a refrigerator) and cost prohibitive (typically tens of thousands of US dollars), and thus were rarely purchased by an individual. However, they were much smaller, less expensive, and generally simpler to operate than many of the mainframe computers of the time. Therefore, they were accessible for individual laboratories and research projects. Minicomputers largely freed these organizations from the batch processing and bureaucracy of a commercial or university computing center.

In addition, minicomputers were relatively interactive and soon had their own operating systems. The minicomputer Xerox Alto (1973) was a landmark step in the development of personal computers, because of its graphical user interface, bit-mapped high resolution screen, large internal and external memory storage, mouse, and special software. [1] The minicomputer era was an intermediary step from mainframes to personal computer usage.

Computers at home

One early use of the term "personal computer" appeared in a November 3, 1962 New York Times article reporting John W. Mauchly's vision of future computing as detailed at a recent meeting of the American Institute of Industrial Engineers. Mauchly stated, "There is no reason to suppose the average boy or girl cannot be master of a personal computer.[2]"

The minicomputer ancestors of the modern personal computer did not use microprocessors, which explained their size and high cost. After the commercialization of the "computer-on-a-chip", the cost of manufacture of a computer system dropped dramatically. The arithmetic, logic, and control functions that previously occupied several costly circuit boards were now available in integrated form. Concurrently, advances in the development of solid-state memory eliminated the bulky, costly, and power-consuming core storage used in prior generations of computers.

A programmable terminal called the Datapoint 2200 is the earliest known device that bears any significant resemblance to the modern personal computer[3][4]. It was made by CTC (now known as Datapoint) in 1970 and was a complete system in a small case bearing the approximate footprint of an IBM Selectric typewriter. The system's CPU was constructed from a variety of discrete components, although the company had commissioned Intel to develop a single-chip processing unit; there was a falling out between CTC and Intel, and the chip Intel had developed wasn't used. Intel soon released a modified version of that chip as the Intel 8008, the world's first 8-bit microprocessor[5]. The needs and requirements of the Datapoint 2200 therefore determined the nature of the 8008, upon which all successive processors used in IBM-compatible PCs were based. Additionally, the design of the Datapoint 2200's multi-chip CPU and the final design of the Intel 8008 were so similar that the two are largely software-compatible; therefore, the Datapoint 2200, from a practical perspective, can be regarded as if it were indeed powered by an 8008, which makes it a strong candidate for the title of "first microcomputer" as well.

Development of the single-chip microprocessor was an enormous catalyst to the popularization of cheap, easy to use, and truly personal computers. The Altair 8800, introduced in a Popular Electronics magazine article in the December, 1974 issue, at the time set a new low price point for a computer, bringing computer ownership to an admittedly select market in the 1970s. It was arguably this computer that spawned the development of both Apple Computer as well as Microsoft, spawning the Altair BASIC programming language interpreter, Microsoft's first product. The second generation of microcomputers — those that appeared in the late 1970s, sparked by the success of the Steve Wozniak-designed Apple release, the Apple II — were usually known as home computers. These were less capable and in some ways less versatile than large business computers of the day. They were generally used by computer enthusiasts for learning to program, running simple office/productivity applications, electronics interfacing, and general hobbyist pursuits. By the late 1990's, the "home computer" was becoming a less common label in favor of "personal computer." The graphics and sound capacities of "home" systems were matched by those intended for "business" purposes, with a general decrease in costs. The two market segments fused. These computers were pre-assembled, often pre-configured with bundled software, and required little technical knowledge to operate.

A university computer lab containing many desktop PCs
A university computer lab containing many desktop PCs
A release photo of the original IBM PC (ca. 1981)
A release photo of the original IBM PC (ca. 1981)
 

Back to business

It was the launch of the VisiCalc spreadsheet, initially for the Apple II (and later for the Atari 8-bit family, Commodore PET, and IBM PC) that turned the microcomputer into a business tool. This was followed by the August 12, 1981 release of the IBM PC which would revolutionize the computer market. The Lotus 1-2-3, a combined spreadsheet (inspired by VisiCalc), presentation graphics, and simple database application, would become the PC's own killer app. Good word processor programs would also appear for many home computers, in particular the introduction of Microsoft Word for the Apple Macintosh in 1985 (While earlier versions of Word had been created for the PC, it became popular initially through the Macintosh.).

In the January 3, 1983 issue of Time magazine, the personal computer was named the "Person of the Year" for 1982.

Today

During the 1990s, the power of personal computers increased radically, blurring the formerly sharp distinction between personal computers and multi-user computers, such as mainframes. Today higher-end computers often distinguish themselves from personal computers by greater reliability or greater ability to multitask, rather than by brute CPU ability.

In today's common usage, personal computer and PC usually indicate an IBM PC compatible. Due to this association, some manufacturers of personal computers that are not IBM PCs avoid explicitly using the terms to describe their products.

Due to networks and the Internet, modern personal computers are no longer the exclusive tools of their users. Support of desktop computers in business now requires as much bureaucracy and professional training as did operating a time-sharing system, with the draw back of much lower security and users skilled enough to get into deep trouble but not skilled enough to get out.

Uses

Personal computers are normally operated by one user at a time to perform such general purpose tasks as word processing, internet browsing, internet faxing, e-mail and other digital messaging, multimedia playback, video game play, computer programming, etc. The user of a modern personal computer may have significant knowledge of the operating environment and application programs, but is not necessarily interested in programming nor even able to write programs for the computer. Therefore, most software written primarily for personal computers tends to be designed with simplicity of use, or " user-friendliness" in mind. However, the software industry continuously provide a wide range of new products for use in personal computers, targeted at both the expert and the non-expert user.

Configuration

An exploded view of a modern personal computer:   Display Motherboard  CPU (Microprocessor) Primary storage (RAM) Expansion cards Power supply  Optical disc drive Secondary storage (HD)  Keyboard  Mouse
An exploded view of a modern personal computer:
  1. Display
  2. Motherboard
  3. CPU (Microprocessor)
  4. Primary storage (RAM)
  5. Expansion cards
  6. Power supply
  7. Optical disc drive
  8. Secondary storage (HD)
  9. Keyboard
  10. Mouse

Personal computers can be categorized by size and portability:

  • Desktop computers
  • Laptop or notebooks
  • Personal digital assistants (PDAs)
  • Portable computers
  • Tablet computers
  • Wearable computers

Most personal computers are standardized to the point that purchased software is expected to run with little or no customization for the particular computer. Many PCs are also user-upgradable, especially desktop and workstation class computers. Devices such as main memory, mass storage, even the motherboard and central processing unit may be easily replaced by an end user. This upgradeability is, however, not indefinite due to rapid changes in the personal computer industry. A PC that was considered top-of-the-line five or six years prior may be impractical to upgrade due to changes in industry standards. Such a computer usually must be totally replaced once it's no longer suitable for its purpose. This upgrade and replacement cycle is partially related to new releases of the primary mass-market operating system, which tends to drive the acquisition of new hardware and tends to obsolete previously serviceable hardware (see planned obsolescence).

The hardware capabilities of personal computers can sometimes be extended by the addition of expansion cards connected via an expansion bus. Some standard peripheral buses often used for adding expansion cards in personal computers as of 2005 are PCI, AGP (a high-speed PCI bus dedicated to graphics adapters), and PCI Express. Most personal computers as of 2005 have multiple physical PCI expansion slots. Many also include an AGP bus and expansion slot or a PCI Express bus and one or more expansion slots, but few PCs contain both buses.

Motherboard

Main article: PC motherboard

The motherboard (or mainboard) is the primary circuit board for a personal microcomputer. Many other components connect directly or indirectly to the motherboard. Motherboards usually contain one or more CPUs, supporting circuitry and ICs for CPU operation, main memory, and facilities for initial setup of the computer immediately after being powered on (often called boot firmware or a BIOS). In many portable and embedded personal computers, the motherboard houses nearly all of the PC's core components. Often a motherboard will also contain one or more peripheral buses and physical connectors for expansion purposes. Sometimes a secondary daughter board is connected with the motherboard to provide further expandability or to satisfy space constraints.

Central processing unit

Main article: Central processing unit

The central processing unit, or CPU, is the part of the computer that executes software programs, including the operating system. Nearly all PCs contain a type of CPU known as a microprocessor. The microprocessor often plugs into the motherboard using one of many different types of sockets. IBM PC compatible computers use an x86-compatible processor, usually made by Intel, AMD, VIA Technologies or Transmeta. Apple Macintosh processors were initially built with the Motorola 68000 family of processors, then the Power PC (a RISC architecture), but as of 2005, Apple has used x86 compatible processors from Intel.

Main memory

Main article: Primary storage
A four-megabyte RAM card measuring about twenty-two by fifteen inches (55.8 by 38.1 centimeters); made for the VAX 8600 minicomputer (circa 1986).  Dual in-line package (DIP)  Integrated circuits populate nearly the whole board; the RAM chips are in the majority located in the rectangular areas to the left and right.
A four-megabyte RAM card measuring about twenty-two by fifteen inches (55.8 by 38.1 centimeters); made for the VAX 8600 minicomputer (circa 1986). Dual in-line package (DIP)  Integrated circuits populate nearly the whole board; the RAM chips are in the majority located in the rectangular areas to the left and right.

A PC's main memory place (or primary storage) is fast storage space that is directly accessible by the CPU, used to store the currently executing program and immediate data. PCs use semiconductor random access memory (RAM) such as DRAM or SRAM as their primary storage. Main memory is usually much faster than mass storage devices like hard disks or optical discs, but cannot retain data without power and is more expensive than mass storage. Therefore, it is not generally suitable for long-term or archival data storage.

Mass storage

Main article: Hard disk
Internals of a Winchester disk
Internals of a Winchester disk

Mass storage stores programs and data without consuming power. Although semiconductor flash memory has dropped in cost, the prevailing form of mass storage in personal computers is still the electromechanical hard disk.

The disk drives use a sealed head/disk assembly (HDA) which was first introduced by IBM's "Winchester" disk system. The use of a sealed assembly allowed the use of positive air pressure to drive out particles from the surface of the disk, which improves reliability.

If the mass storage controller provides for expandability, a PC may also be upgraded by the addition of extra hard disk or optical drives. For example, DVD-ROMs, CD-ROMs, and various optical disc recorders may all be added by the user to certain PCs. Standard internal storage device interfaces are ATA, Serial ATA, SCSI, and CF+ Type II in 2005.

Graphics – video card

Main article: Graphics card


The graphics card - otherwise called a graphics adapter, video adapter, or video card - processes and renders the graphics output from the computer to the VDU or computer monitor and is an essential part of the modern computer. On older and budget models graphics cards tended to be integrated with the motherboard but, more commonly, they are supplied in PCI, AGP, or PCI Express format.

At the introduction of the IBM PC, many personal computers used text-only display adapters and had no graphics capability.

Laptop computers

Main article: Laptop computer

A laptop computer or simply laptop (also notebook computer or notebook) is a small personal computer designed for mobility. Usually all of the interface hardware needed to operate the laptop, such as parallel and serial ports, graphics adapter, sound channel, etc., are built in to a single unit. Most laptops contain batteries to facilitate operation without a readily available electrical outlet. In the interest of saving power, weight and space, they usually share RAM with the video channel, slowing their performance compared to an equivalent desktop machine.

Non IBM-compatible personal computers

Though many personal computers are compatible with IBM PCs using either Microsoft Windows or Unix-likes such as Linux, a number of other personal computer types are also popular. Note that in many regions, in popular usage the term "PC" (though simply short for "personal computer") has become synonymous with "IBM PC–compatible."

A leading alternative to the IBM-compatible PC is the Macintosh (thus the commonly heard comparative, "PC vs. Mac"). The Macintosh originally used the Motorola 68000 series, then shifted to the IBM and Motorola PowerPC processors. This makes the term “IBM-compatible” particularly ironic, since the Macintosh was powered by an IBM chip, though neither IBM PCs nor so-called “IBM-compatibles” were.

In January, 2006, Apple shifted its architecture to the same Intel processor family found in many so-called “IBM-compatibles.”

Further PC and PW (Personal Workstation) types through time:

  • Acorn Archimedes & RiscPC
  • Amiga (previously produced by Commodore, now under license from Amiga Inc.)
  • Atari ST
  • BeOS BeBox
  • MicroBee
  • NEC PC-9800 (At one time, in Japan.)
  • NeXT workstations
  • Pegasos
  • SGI workstations like the SGI Indigo and SGI Onyx
  • Sun SPARCstation

The term "personal computer" is often avoided by advocates of the above computer systems, because of the association with the "PC" in "IBM PC".

IBM-compatible is a historical term since IBM no longer manufactures personal computers. It is still a short-hand way of designating, especially during the period 1981–1997, a computer generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT and AT. Pragmatically, the operational definition of "compatible personal computer" is now "capable of running the current edition of Microsoft Windows".

See also

  • Apple Computer, Apple II, Apple Lisa, and Apple Macintosh
  • Computer
  • Desktop replacement computer
  • Gaming PC
  • History of computing hardware (1960s-present)
  • Home computer
  • HTPC
  • Laptop
  • Mainframe computer
  • Microcomputer
  • Minicomputer
  • Osborne 1
  • Personal Computer Museum
  • Silent PC
  • Supercomputer
  • Workstation
  • Xerox Star

Notes

  1. ^ Rheingold, H. (2000). Tools for thought: the history and future of mind-expanding technology (New ed.). Cambridge, MA etc.: The MIT Press.
  2. ^ "Pocket Computer May Replace Shopping List", New York Times, 1962-11-03.
  3. ^ http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1994/2/1994_2_64.shtml
  4. ^ http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=596
  5. ^ A History of Modern Computing, (MIT Press), pp. 220–21

External links

  • Personal Computer Museum - Showcasing over 40 interactive displays
  • Old Computers Museum (all computer types)
  • Rune's PC Museum
  • Custom PC Guide A regularly updated PC/HTPC buyer's guide.
  • The PC Guide contains detailed historical and technical information.
  • Howstuffworks' article on "How PCs Work"
  • Wikicity for PC enthuiasm
  • BlinkenLights Archaeological Insititute - Personal Computer Milestones What was the first personal computer?
  • "Total share: 30 years of personal computer market share figures" — From Ars Technica
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer"